"Look what I can do!"

This past summer, I became the happy owner of a smart phone. And while I loved by former blackberry, my current phone can do SO much more than the BB ever could! From GPS directions when I drive to playing YouTube videos when I'm bored, my phone never ceases to amaze me.
Plus, there are all these apps to play with! And while there are plenty of apps that I could spend my money on, I'm pretty partial to the free ones (for obvious reasons)... and every time I find a good one, I want to shout it from the rooftops! So, this post is going to do just that: I want to tell you about my current favorite app called FxCamera! It's this snazzy, FREE tool that takes photos with different effects- and all from my phone!
And while I could just describe all the effects, I thought I'd SHOW you just what it's all about! So I took photos of the same subject, cycling through the different styles. First up: ToyCam!
Next: Polandroid! (I love this- so much so, that I used it on Monday's post, too!)
This is Fisheye, and it looks much cooler with a different subject.
Warhol is especially fun... right?
And SymmetriCam is cool- but also kind of odd!
And finally you can just use the Normal Camera mode with different exposures... like black and white:
And polarized!
Come on, isn't that fun? And it's totally free! I just love the fact that even when I choose not to tote my nice camera around with me I still have another option for taking fun photos! Of course there are lots of different camera and photo apps available for all different phones... and I can't wait to play with more!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a fun day!

It's back...

SNOW, that is!
I should have known that the 62 degree afternoon we enjoyed in NYC on Friday was too good to be true... but to be honest, this sight was a bit of a surprise this morning- I guess I forgot that is was still February!
But it's not so bad- everything in the city looks clean and pretty again... so my little trek through Central Park was a lovely start to the morning- thank goodness I hadn't packed up my snow boots quite yet! :)
Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!

Why wait for spring?

Over the weekend, I decided my apartment needed a "spring cleaning"...
And though I worked on it all day Saturday, I still have a long way to go! But things are starting to look better already- I even emptied my closet of 2 HUGE bags of old clothes! So while all that cleaning might not make the most entertaining blog post I've ever shared, I'm still really glad I did it!
So, did you have a productive and/or fun weekend? Thanks for visiting!

Another late night!

I enjoyed the luxury of a taxi ride home after the second performance of our current opera... so here's a glimpse at the view from the Queensboro Bridge:



Fun, right? Oh, and as promised, here are the reviews that have come in for the show thus far: Associated Press, NY Times, and a local music blog.

Thanks for visiting- I hope you have a great weekend!

What a night...

I dragged myself home a few hours ago...
You see, it was quite an evening! Our show opened yesterday night, and after the curtain came down there was a reception...
And boy did I have fun! Not only was the performance AMAZING, but I got to wear a fancy dress, high heels, sparkly jewelry... and I was just doing my job!
But now I'm tired and all I want to do it stay in bed all day! But since that's not an option, I plan on pulling myself together and schlepping myself into work. And while it may be tough to stay awake, the excitement from last night will certainly carry me through the day!

Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day (and I'll post the reviews as soon as they're out)!

Valentine Garland

I thought I would celebrate today by sharing a tutorial for a simple, little decoration I made...
So here it is, my Valentine Garland!
This box of old business cards was just waiting to be turned into something useful (and now you know that I never throw anything away)...
So I attacked a stack of the cards with a big-ol' paper cutter, and I turned them into little triangles.
So the other night I pulled out a couple of bottles of paint, my jar of brushes- and I got to work!
And after a few minutes, I had slathered all of the triangles in pink or red.
But they were pretty boring that way, so I used a piece of dowel and added polka dots up the side of each pennant.
After leaving them to dry overnight, they got a little curly.
(But it was nothing a quick press under an iron couldn't smooth out!)
After I had all my triangles flattened out, I placed them in a row (alternating pink and red)...
And used my trusty hot glue gun to adhere them to a piece of paper twine.
And after lots of glue (and only one burned finger), I had some completed garlands ready to hang.
I chose to hang them on a door in my hallway- a subtle yet festive way to celebrate Valentine's Day!
Overall, I was pretty pleased with this project! And not only was it cheap, but it was a great way to re-use some old cards that were destined for the trash!
Thank you for visiting- I hope you have a happy Valentine's Day!

Rehearsal galore

We're in the midst of tech week for the biggest production of the season, so I haven't had a chance to post in the last few days. But in case you're wondering, I've spent most of my evenings in the theater gazing at this incredible set!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend- see you next week!

Falling for fashion

As the first week of February rolls by, my thoughts are focused on finishing all the productions and projects at work that must take place before the students leave for spring break at the end of the month. So when I was leaving work the other night and saw this advertisement, I was momentarily thrown-off!
I mean, I can't even think about my summer plans, let alone what I plan on wearing next fall! Lucky for me and the rest of the world, the fashion industry is way ahead of me... and they're all set for Fall 2011 Fashion Week, which starts on Thursday!
So here's to seeing lots of famous people outside my office at the end of the week, and pushing my way through hordes of leggy models to get to the Starbucks counter! :)

I hope you have a great day- thanks for visiting!

Pretty polish, please!

I like nail polish. I mean, I really like it!

This probably isn't a surprise to many of you- I've talked about nail polish in three separate posts over the last year... egads! And while I love my regular brands (OPI, Sephora by OPI, and Essie), I also enjoy trying new ones! So when I read an article about Inglot a while back, I just had to check it out!
Inglot is a Polish make-up brand, and they sell everything from eyeshadow to lipstick... and they happen to have a fun little store in NYC! So the other day I stopped by, and was immediately drawn to the nail polish wall... can you blame me?
I tried to be reasonable, so I walked out with just a tiny little bag...
Filled with two kinds of Inglot's signature nail polish!
First up, 706! Not only is this great shade a matte finish, but it's also toluene, formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and camphor FREE! Considering that I wear nail polish all the time, the idea of using a polish with less chemicals really appealed to me!
I also purchased a bottle of O2M 634. (The information I read about this particular product was what brought me into the store in the first place.) You see, O2M polishes are made from a new polymer that was originally designed for use in contact lenses. Not only are the yucky chemicals still missing, but the new polymer increases the oxygen permeability of the varnish (meaning air can get through the paint to my nails) and it reduces the film tightness (which means my nails feel more natural). Isn't that cool?
Of course, I had to try out the O2M polish right away. And while it does feel different from my other polishes when dry (it's not as slick to the touch), the color is quite nice and I haven't gotten a chip yet!
Thanks for sharing in my nail polish excitement- I hope you had a really fun weekend!

Home again, home again... jiggity-jig!

When I leave the office extra late (after 10pm), I sometimes treat myself to a cab ride home. And the other day, on just such a ride home, I realized that my phone could take video...

You can probably figure out where I'm going with this...



This video, all 59 seconds of it, takes place along 21st Street in Long Island City. From looking out the side window of the taxi, to the view through the windshield and finally a glimpse of the in-vehicle television, this is what a portion of my ride home looks like!

I hope you enjoyed it and sorry about the wobbly camera... there are a lot of pot holes in this city!

I hope you have a great weekend and thank you for visiting!

Dinner delivered...

Over the course of this blog, I've shared photos of some very fancy and trendy meals...
And while my dinner last night was neither of those things...
This carton of vegetable fried rice and can of Diet Coke delivered to my office was a welcome and tasty end to a very long day!
I hope you're staying warm wherever you are- thanks for visiting!

Running a quick errand

About 25 times a day, I'm reminded how fun it is to live in NYC.
Because while some folks have to travel to their local grocery store to run errands...
I get to run downtown to the M&M Store!
It's true- I needed to pick up a special bag of very tasty, candy-coated chocolate the other day...
So I headed down to Times Square...
And started filling bags with these tasty candies!
I know it's not the most traditional errand in the world... but it sure was fun!
Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!

Call of duty

Yesterday, at what felt like the crack of dawn, I schlepped myself to Jamaica (which is a city way out east in Queens county). Why would I take a day off during the busiest time of the school year to visit this outpost on the F train, you may ask...
Well folks, it was because I was called to JURY DUTY! It was my first time, and although it was a slightly odd experience, I learned that telling the truth is always the best policy and I fulfilled my civic duty... which means I don't have to worry about being called for another 5 years... HALLELUJAH!
Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a super day!